Sad fate of a Gwangju suicide victim

The title may be a bit confusing but here’s the story as compiled from several Korean news source.

The movie “Gokseong” or “The Wailing” ruled the box office in Korea for a few weeks last month. Along with its popularity is the boom in tourism of the county where the movie is based. They recently held its “International Rose Festival” from May 20th to the 29th.

The Gwangju suicide victim is a 7th-grade civil servant (40-yr old Mr. A) who worked for the public affairs office of Gokseong. If you know what a civil servant’s life is like in Korea, you’ll know that they work long hours. The man in the story had been busy promoting the county and its festival. His dedication to work had taken away most of his time. He arrived at the office earlier than anybody else and left just to catch the last bus home.

On May 31st, he caught the last bus to Gwangju, where he lived. His 8-month pregnant wife and 6-yr old son waited for him at the bus stop. When he arrived, they walked together to the apartment complex. The man walked a few steps ahead of his wife and son. What happened next is truly unimaginable and traumatic.

Gokseong civil servant ~

A 26-year old male university student (Mr. B) decided to end his life by jumping from the 20th floor of the apartment building. He was not a resident of the apartment! He landed on the civil servant. Both suffered head injuries and were taken by emergency 119 to the hospital but died on the way. Inside the bag of the 26-year old male is a suicide note written on an A4 size paper. He wrote that the preparation for the civil service exam is too tough and he felt that his life is wasted.

Suicide victim

Mr. B wanted to end his life, but he also took the life and the happiness of a man who struggled from day-to-day performing his duty as a civil servant, a husband and a dad. Mr. A, was not only a hard-working employee. With a pregnant wife, he tried to save money by taking public transportation to and from work.

Mr. A became a civil servant in 2008. He started working for the public affairs office of Gokseong from July 2014. Since he worked only for eight years and his death is not work-related, his family might not be entitled to regular pension and benefits as allowed by law. The county of Gokseong, citing that he was a dedicated worker, is considering to apply the regular benefits to Mr. A’s family.

Mr. A just was just walking home with his family from a full day’s work. He just wanted to come home, rest and spend time with his loved ones after not seeing them for a day. He ended becoming a suicide victim ~ the victim of Mr. B who wanted to end his life.